Latest SEC Articles

Let’s get one thing clear right away. There is no such thing as an “easy” schedule in the SEC. When putting together Athlon Sports' college football preview magazines each year, a huge part of the process is scheduling. Non-conference games, crossovers, home-road splits and timing all play a role in determining order of finish. And don’t forget that the...

LSU has trended backwards in the SEC West standings for four consecutive seasons, going from first (2011) to second (2012) to third (2013) to fifth (2014). One major reason for that type of trend is the SEC West schedule. It’s the toughest division in all of college football and is loaded with the best coaches and rosters in the country. LSU fits the bill perfectly and Les Miles...

Auburn’s offense will be virtually unstoppable as long as Gus Malzahn is in charge on The Plains. But with the addition of Will Muschamp as defensive coordinator, the Tigers possibly boast the best offense-defense sideline combination in all of college football. But the reason this Tigers squad wasn’t an SEC contender last year was due to the brutal road schedule: At Kansas...

Dan Mullen led Mississippi State to unprecedented heights in 2014. The Bulldogs had a record-setting, Heisman-caliber quarterback and a veteran-led defense that had MSU in the playoff picture until the final weeks of the season. And the school's first AP No. 1 ranking ever. Obviously, getting Dak Prescott back is huge news for Mullen and a great place to start. But he has his work...

Latest Big Ten Articles

Ohio State is the defending national champions and has a schedule that should allow the Buckeyes to defend their title with relative ease. Urban Meyer has one tough road game in conference, will play two of the worst teams from the Big Ten West Division and has one revenge game on the road in the non-conference. And Ohio State boasts what is by far the best roster in the Big Ten....

Ohio State opened spring practice with a target on its back. The Buckeyes are the defending national champions and the favorite to win college football’s national title in 2015. Of course, a lot can happen between now and the end of the year. However, Ohio State is positioned for another run at the championship, especially with the returning talent on both sides of the ball. 5...

Michigan State has emerged as a national power under coach Mark Dantonio. The Spartans have won at least 11 games in each of the last four seasons and have claimed back-to-back finishes inside of the top five in the last Associated Press poll. Michigan State has a few personnel concerns heading into spring ball, and Dantonio has to replace coordinator Pat Narduzzi on the defensive side. While...

College Football Coaches on the Hot Seat

Hot seat talk among any college football fanbase never seems to end. Of course, it’s the offseason, so everyone is discussing preseason expectations and predictions. And with expectations of records and bowl games comes the pressure on head coaches.Every head coach is faced with a different set of obstacles and expectations. For example,...

Latest ACC Articles

Louisville’s first season in the ACC was a successful one. The Cardinals finished 9-4, with two of their losses coming by six points or less. 2014 also brought the return of Bobby Petrino to the Louisville sidelines, and despite a revolving door at quarterback and a struggling offensive line, the Cardinals still averaged 31.2 points per game. Petrino and his staff will be busy this spring...

Clemson has won 42 games in the last four seasons. However, all of the talent — both on the field and calling the plays on the sideline — that helped Dabo Swinney reach that number has moved on. There is plenty left in the cupboard, namely star quarterback Deshaun Watson and the second-most talented roster in the ACC, but another brutal schedule will make getting to...

Latest Big 12 Articles

Charlie Strong probably feels like he cleared one hurdle in his first season at Texas. He reestablished a physicality and toughness in the Longhorns that had been long missing under the previous regime. But entering his second season, there are still many questions about key positions — like quarterback — and now he has to fill massive holes left in the...

West Virginia rebounded from a 4-8 mark in 2013 to finish 7-6 and earn its first winning record (5-4) in Big 12 action since joining the league. The Mountaineers return 16 starters for 2015, including talented running back Rushel Shell and defensive backs Daryl Worley (CB) and Karl Joseph (S). Coach Dana Holgorsen has this program trending in the right direction, but his 2015 team has a few...

Latest American Articles

With the volume of high-powered offenses and talent at the skill positions every year, it’s not easy being a defensive coordinator or a player on that side of the ball. However, there’s no shortage of standouts that emerge each season out of spring practice and the regular season. After taking a look at the quarterbacks, running backs and receivers on the rise for 2015, it...

Recruiting rankings matter. They are not a guarantee of future success but they are the foundation every national championship has been built upon. It takes great coaching, development and luck to win a title, but having better players is the only way to start. In fact, the data backing up the value of recruiting rankings is impenetrable. For example, look at last year’s rosters...

CFB Infinite Scroll Left

College Football, News Washington coach Chris Petersen was already planning on a quarterback battle this spring, but the outlook for the Huskies’ starting job was slightly altered with the announcement Cyler Miles...

College Football, News The national perception of the Big Ten shifted at the end of the 2014 season thanks to Ohio State’s national championship and Michigan’s hire of Jim Harbaugh as the program’s new...

College Football, News The SEC hasn’t won a national title in the last two seasons, but this conference is still the best in the nation. And the two-year drought certainly won’t last much longer with the...

College Football, News Iowa quarterback Jake Rudock is leaving the program and will be eligible to compete in 2015 at another FBS program as a graduate transfer. But this is where the intrigue begins. Could Michigan be a...

College Football, News The 2015 Pac-12 season is shaping up to be another year filled of intrigue in both division races. Oregon is the favorite in the North, but the Ducks have question marks on both sides of the ball....

College Football, News Never before has scheduling been a bigger issue than the 2014 College Football Playoff. The committee clearly took a stance on Baylor’s weak non-conference matchups and it cost the Bears...

College Football, News Hosts Braden Gall and Steven Lassan go in-depth with an early 2015 Big 12 conference preview. The guys debate TCU vs. Baylor at the top of the league. Who should be the frontrunner? Who...

College Football, News The Big 12 should be an interesting league to follow in 2015. Although the conference was left out of the final four of the college football playoff last season, Baylor and TCU will be back in the...

College Football, News If there’s a way to make a positive out of an awful situation, University of Oklahoma athletics is doing the work. The Oklahoma campus was rocked Sunday evening and Monday when a video of...